Madame X: The Rise and Fall of Indonesia's Queer Cinema

For years, queer characters in Indonesia were portrayed on screen as the punchline of a sad joke. But with the fall of Gen. Suharto's autocratic regime in 1998, Indonesia was about to enter a period of intense turmoil and wild experimentation. After three decades of severe limits on freedom of expression, the film industry was suddenly open to a new kind of exploration of topics and themes that never would’ve gotten past Suharto’s New Order censors, including stories about gender and sexuality.

The window slowly began to close after 2010 as religious conservatives rose to even higher levels of power and influence. Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric rapidly intensified in Indonesia, and suddenly, a community once subject to quiet discrimination was thrust into the spotlight and painted as a threat to the country’s national stability.

Now, as LGBTQ activists and allies struggle to figure out how to combat this new normal, Garin Nugroho, a celebrated indie director, recently came out with the controversial "Memories of My Body." VICE talks to experts to trace the rise and fall of Indonesia's queer cinema and imagines what the future looks like for LGBTQ representation on screen.